With Arellano Félix drug cartel split up, small cells take over

By Sandra Dibble (Contact) Union-Tribune Staff Writer
11:36 a.m. January 4, 2009

Run by a group of brothers originally from Sinaloa state, the Arellano Félix drug cartel monopolized the lucrative routes for illicit drugs through the Tijuana region to the United States for more than two decades.

The cartel has been weakened in recent years because the brothers and some trusted lieutenants have been arrested or killed. Experts say what was once a strong hierarchy has been replaced by a network of criminal cells led by Fernando Sánchez Arellano, a nephew of the brothers.
Sanchez's nickname is “El Ingeniero,â€